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Indian Buffalo Meat Challenges Rice in Export Markets

ANALYSIS - India has become the world’s leading exporter of buffalo meat, taking more than half of the global market, writes Chris Harris.

In the 2012-2013 financial year, India exported more than 1.1 million tonnes of buffalo meat worth $3.2 million (Rs13, 725 billion).

According to figures from Apeda, the Indian Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, exports of buffalo meat have been growing at a rate of 15 per cent over the last decade.

In 2011/12 total exports were 985,991 tonnes worth $2.86 billion and the year before they were 726,287 tonnes and worth $1.89 billion.

The continued growth in buffalo meat exports has been put down to the growing demand for beef meat in China and fall back in the exports of beef from Brazil because some markets have been closed to Brazilian exporters because of food safety inspection concerns and concerns over sanitary controls and disease.

Analysts in India believe that the growth in buffalo meat exports, which between April and May alone this year reached $578 million, could push basmati rice as the country’s largest agrifood export product.

The largest single export market for Indian buffalo meat is Viet Nam, which over the last year took 330,061.23 tonnes worth just under $1 billion.

The second largest export destination is Malaysia which took 115,222.85 tonnes worth £357.25 million.

Most of the exports are to Asian, Middle Eastern and CIS countries as well as Africa, although small amounts are shipped to some European Countries, including the Netherlands, Germany and the UK.

Viet Nam’s share of the market is around 30 per cent and Malaysia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines each have between seven and 11 per cent market share.

According to Apeda the large shipments of buffalo meat to Viet Nam are to meet the demand of the Chinese population.

The country largest exporter of buffalo meat is Allana, shipping product to 64 countries.